They Blinded Me With (Rage) Science!

Posted by: Jen

So I read the most disturbing article in Salon today (linked here: http://www.salon.com/books/int/2008/03/31/Nim_Chimpsky/). You'd think when I would call something disturbing it would be about the war, or the market or politics, but this, my friends, was far worse. It was a about a monkey. A BABY monkey and his horrible, horrible life.

I will give you a minute to catch your breath.

Basically, in the 70's, the groovy thing to do was Chimp Experiments. At the time, many scientists thought that animals (namely chimps) did not have the capacity to learn and understand language the way people do, so a study was done to determine if this was the case. Apparently, the scientists were all, "Hey you know what I think a good idea for an experiment would be? Let’s raise a chimp with a human family and make him think he’s a people too!” So, little Nim Chimpsky was stolen from his mother and shipped off to the Upper West Side to live with a loving family. He was treated as a member of the family. He was dressed in overalls. He had toys. He was loved. He summered in the Hamptons. And then funding ran out.

Little Nim was torn from his family and shipped off to a lead very non-Upper West Side lifestyle with other chimps! The rest of the story is really heart breaking, as Nim never recovered from it, having trouble adjusting to life as a chimp and basically being depressed until he DIED.

Later when asked, the people involved in the experiment were all, "Meh. I feel guilty but..." They never did anything about it.

GAAAAHHHHHHH! Does anyone else find this just so utterly disturbing? I mean I know most people are all like, “Oh animals don’t have feelings!” but how could they be so completely careless with a cute little fuzzy monkey?! Christ.

Kim, this makes me glad that you quit your job at the horrible bio-tech. I bet all of your chimps were just as equally, if not more, fucked with. I am all for curing Cancer or whatever, but please people, this study had no real value other than determining what chimps were or were not capable of. My cat is capable of breathing but you don’t see me holding her under water to prove it.

And now, a co-worker and myself react:

Jennifer: this is really sadddd
http://www.salon.com/books/int/2008/03/31/Nim_Chimpsky/

Charles: “Nim kept his one copy of this book safe, even though chimps tend to wreck everything. He would bring it down and show the other chimps, then bring it back to his bunk and keep it under his sleeping area so that no one could destroy it. He would just look at pictures of his New York City family, and himself, over and over again.” :'(

Jennifer: I KNOW
that was almost too much for me to handle
it's so mean that they screwed with the monkey like that
I would let Nim live with me and we would wear matching jammies and live happily ever after

Charles: i know, me too
i love the monkey

Jennifer: too bad he died

Charles: i knowes!

Charles: oh god. i wish i had a little monkey and i would teach him stuff, but if he didn't want to learn and he just wanted to play all day that'd be fine too

Jennifer: I know they thought animals didn't have feelings or whatever
but HOW could they be so careless!?
he was sad forever
and then he DIED

Charles: i know!
alfsdja;lksfdij
it's the saddest story ever told

Jennifer: Once upon a time there was a baby monkey who was very lucky and got to live on the UWS of Manhattan with a mommy and daddy who really loved him. He was happy there. And then one day funding ran out and he was sent away, never to see his mommy and daddy again, with only a picture book of memories. He was sad. And then, 30 years later, still sad, HE DIED.

Charles: .lkhdsftqhfsd'[oihFAEr
GF
SDFASDFLASDF

Jennifer: I KNOW

Charles: THERE IS NO WAY THAT DOESN'T GET SADDER THE MORE YOU THINK ABOUT IT

Jennifer: I know, I seriously need a drink.